Review by Booklist Review
Fleeing memories of his abbreviated service, Korean War veteran Lawrence stakes his claim on a parcel of free land in the Alaska Territory. At an Anchorage bar, he meets Marie, a young woman ostensibly visiting her sister in Alaska, who is determined not to return to her native Texas. The promise of Lawrence's 150 acres is all that it takes for her to agree to a date and then marriage. Virtual strangers, their first year of marriage is marked by joy and tragedy, birth and death as Lawrence struggles to tame both the wilderness and his own demons, and Marie seeks to reconcile her troubled childhood with the woman she has become. Under U.S. law, living on the land in a habitable dwelling and farming 20 acres constitutes ownership. But what rights are given to those who have spilled their blood or birthed and buried children there? And what about the Native people for whom this very land was home for generations? Inspired by Moustakis' own family history and set during the Alaskan Territory's bid for statehood, this stunning debut novel considers what it truly means to own land. Recommended for fans of Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone (2018).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Moustakis shines in her debut, the dramatic rendering of a young couple's homesteader life in mid-1950s Alaska. Marie Kubala, having fled a dreary life in Texas, visits her sister and her husband, Sly, in Alaska, hoping to find a husband. Meanwhile, Lawrence Beringer, a Korean war vet from a small Minnesota farm, arrives with big dreams for his 150-acre claim in the Alaskan territory. The two meet at a lodge, where they bond over a shared excitement at the prospect of owning their own land. Moustakis adroitly traces their trajectory as they marry and throw themselves into the rigors of setting up a home in the wild. It takes a while for Lawrence to become intimate with Marie, and their relationship strengthens under false pretenses after he lies about adding her name to the land deed. Later, they face devastating challenges while trying to start a family, as well as catastrophic dangers in the wild, and Marie's questions about the deed push them to a boiling point. The wondrous descriptions of the back-breaking labor involved in clearing and farming the land, and of the region's vast beauty, will make readers feel like they're there. This evocative, well-drawn account of Alaska's American settlers is so convincing it ought to come with a pair of mittens. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency. (Feb.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Think you've put in your time with emotionally unavailable men? Try making a marriage in the Alaskan wilderness with Lawrence Beringer. Homesteading in Alaska in the 1950s isn't for the faint of heart. To secure a deed to the 150 acres outside Anchorage where he's staked his claim, Lawrence must build a cabin and successfully cultivate the land--no small task given the territory's bitter winters, the dense forest to be cleared, and the bears and wolves always happy to remind him he's on their turf. Lawrence is a determined loner who dreams of a better life than his parents had back in Minnesota, and he hits the jackpot when Marie Kubala, attracted by the cut of his jaw and the prospect of those 150 acres, agrees to become his wife. They're ready for a challenge, but neither realizes the work of knowing each other and forging a marriage will prove even more daunting than taming their bit of the great outdoors. Moustakis excels at conjuring place: You can feel the wind, taste the homemade cherry wine that fuels the couple's labors, and sense the chill loneliness that is their isolated lives, even with frequent visits from Marie's sister, Sheila, and her husband, Sly, who live in town. Lawrence's struggles with intimacy are finely rendered as well, though the reason for them has a whiff of cliché: Hiding trauma and survivor's guilt from his service in the Korean War, he resists Marie's urging to open up. (He's the kind of guy for whom "Wood won't chop itself" counts as conversation.) The birth of their daughter complicates Marie's relationship with Sheila, who longs for a child but has had no luck, and brings Marie and Lawrence closer while also testing them. A grizzly might get you on your way to the lake, but months with a colicky baby will make that walk seem well worth it. Nuanced and suffused with poetry, Moustakis' novel paints an indelible portrait of a couple finding their way in the wilderness. An atmospheric debut about the savagery of nature, learning to trust, and the wilds that exist within all of us. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
